Page 60 of The Naughty List Agreement

He finished cleaning off the beater and set it on the counter, deliberately brushing his hand over hers as he reached for a spoon. She shivered and a flush moved up her neck to her cheeks. “Why not?”

“You’re playing with fire.”

“It’s a chilly night.” He scooped up some dough and held the spoon out to her.

Her mouth opened and he slipped the spoon in, but she carefully took only half a bite, leaving the rest for him. Keeping eye contact, he brought the spoon to his own mouth, telling himself there was no way this bite was sweeter than the last. After all, it was the same dough.

The fact that it had been in Cora’s mouth shouldn’t have any impact at all. But it did. He was rock hard in his jeans.

“More?” Her husky voice brushed over his aroused senses, and he wasn’t sure who was winning this game they were playing—maybe both of them.

This time he went first, but the way she watched him biting the dough off the spoon made him want to toss it aside and lift her up on the countertop. He wanted to push himself between her legs, until he could rub his cock against her center.

He swallowed hard as he held the spoon out to her, not quite to her mouth so she’d have to come closer.

Putting her hand on his wrist, her long fingers wrapping around it, she went up on her tiptoes and put her mouth around the spoon, cleaning off the rest of the dough. A haze fell over him. All he could think about in this room that smelled of gingerbread was that they were no longer his favorite. Cora was fast becoming that. Tossing the spoon down, he licked her lower lip.

Her breath brushed over his lips as she opened her mouth and then her tongue rubbed over his. He lifted her off her feet, pulling her flush against him. His hands were on her butt, lifting her up until he could rub his aching erection against her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as she plunged her tongue into his mouth. He wanted to be closer to her. He needed some skin-on-skin contact.

Pushing his hand under her skirt, he was frustrated to only feel the silky smoothness of her stockings. Her hands went between them, her fingers on the buttons of his flannel shirt, and then her fingers were on his skin. This was getting out of control.

All he wanted was to be buried deep inside of her. He turned her so that her butt rested on the edge of the countertop. Cora’s mouth went on his neck, sucking at that spot where he was sure she could feel his pulse racing.

With less skill than he would have liked, he shoved his hand under the hem of her fluffy sweater. The moment his fingers were on her smooth skin, the spring inside of his gut coiled tighter. His other hand curving around her waist to draw them closer until the tips of her breasts brushed his chest. He pushed the hem of her top up until he encountered her bra.

Sleeping with her without coming clean that he was Santa Claus was dumb, no two ways about it. He kept repeating that in his head, hoping the reminder would make him stop.

But nothing could break the spell that Cora had on him. Her body was the kind of temptation that he wanted to explore. He needed to take his time with her.

She was rubbing him through his jeans and he could barely think, let alone stop. And then she scooched her butt forward and wrapped her legs around his waist, and began moving against him, riding him hard with her head thrown back and her breath coming in gasps.

God, she was beautiful like this. His mouth was on her neck, biting and sucking as he fought for control. Cora rode him hard, her nails digging into his shoulders as she did it.

Every fiber of his being felt too tight and the tension kept building until he pulled his hips away from her. He was going to orgasm in her kitchen, both of them fully clothed.

But Cora dug her heels into his thighs and kept them in contact. She shivered and shuddered in his arms at the same moment as he started to come too. Her hands were in his hair as her mouth came down hard on his. She was breathing hard, sucking his tongue deep and riding him until she collapsed in his arms. He held her to him, hands running up and down her back.

This was not what he’d had planned. Not in the least.

The oven timer started going off and she kissed his chin. “Let me down. There’s a bathroom along the hall if you want to clean up. When you come back, I’ll have hot gingerbread and a glass of cold milk waiting.”

He set her on her feet, feeling like he’d been played, yet regretting nothing. He let his hand linger as he pulled it slowly down her spine and she shivered.

The hallway that led to the bathroom had bare walls that had been painted in a seafoam green color. The bathroom itself was quaint, but all Nick could do was put his hands on the edge of the sink and stare at himself in the mirror.

What was he doing?

Could he really convince Cora to marry him? And how would he live without her if she turned him down?

But as he finished cleaning up and glanced at his watch, he saw how much she was boosting the Lumen. He would have to wait until he got back to his office to see if her knot in the Yearweave had changed, but he felt sure it must have.

Back in the kitchen, Cora did indeed have warm gingerbread and ice-cold milk waiting. Her hair was still tousled from their encounter, her face rosy, but there was a serene calmness that radiated from her.

He sat next to her on the bench at her kitchen table, the heat of her body pressed against his right side. “This was nice.”

“Baking always works,” she said.